Lunar Romance
by Emperor Zeref Dragneel
Summary: Erza gets a strange visit from a mysterious person one day, prompting her to set out an adventure in order to find out what the person meant when they first talked to her. of course, she was not to set alone on this journey, tagging along with her was a certain pink haired dragon slayer. What lies in wait for the two?
1. Chapter 1

**Lunar Romance**

Erza is approached by a mysterious woman one day, who holds secrets that she wishes to find out, alongside her friend, Natsu Dragneel. Conflicted, she wonders whether the secrets are worth knowing, or just a trap set by the unknown woman. What will happen to her and Natsu?

Natsu x Erza

 _The Book of the Moon_

Erza was currently seated at a table of her favorite cake shop in Magnolia, helping herself to a plate of cake after returning from her most recent mission. Luckily enough, the mission itself didn't turn out to be exceptionally tough, so she wasn't as exhausted as she normally would be after other jobs. As she took another bite of the cake, which melted spectacularly in her mouth relieving her of her slight fatigue, she realized how good it felt to be back in Magnolia after being away for a while.

The cake shop itself was quite populated at that time of the day, seeing as though the searing sun outside proved unfavorable to most of the residents of Magnolia, as well as Erza. There was general chatter and a lively mood within the shop as the citizens happily mingled with each other, but Erza was happy that she was able to spend some time by herself, without the overly boisterous presence of Natsu Dragneel, Gray Fullbuster or Lucy HeartFilia. Not that she minded their company, of course, she loved spending time with them more than anything in the world, but there were times when she simply enjoyed being in her own solitude. It gave her a chance to mull over things in silence, without any distractions around.

The door to the store swung open, the bells at the top ringing to signify that a new customer had just entered the store. Erza paid this no heed, of course, choosing to focus on the half-eaten cake that lay on the table ahead of her. She took the person who had just entered to be just another civilian of Magnolia, who had come to the shop to enjoy the cakes that were part of the pride of the small town. Such was her surprise, then, when the stranger decided to appear in front of the red haired woman.

She was clad in a bright colored skirt of blue, which ran all the way till her ankles, leaving her arms exposed from the shoulders forward. Erza became increasingly aware of the presence of someone next to her, so she looked up from her plate, to meet an attractive woman, the likes of which her eyes had never beheld before in Magnolia. Even the Fairy Tail poster girl, Mirajane Strauss, seemed to pale in comparison to the girl before Erza at the moment. She had a neat mass of blonde hair upon her head, which fell freely till her shoulders, plus a light toned skin, similar to the skin color of Lucy HeartFilia. Her eyes, however, were the oddest part about her facial features. She had blue irises, and within the irises, appeared star shaped symbols in the place of pupils. This gave her the uncanny appearance of having a night sky plus a constellation within her eyes.

Seating next to the place where Erza currently was, since there was no one keeping the red haired woman company, Erza realized that she had never seen anyone like that in Magnolia before. Her first thought was that the woman was an outsider from another town within Fiore, so she decided to keep to herself and allow the woman to see for herself what Magnolia was like, without any external aid. It definitely did better in enjoying the town more, something Erza understood the first time she visited the town, looking for the guild that Grandpa Rob had told her about, Fairy Tail.

To add on to Erza's surprises for the day, however, the woman suddenly spoke up in a hushed tone, clearly addressing the red haired woman, owing to their close proximity. "Erza Scarlet, I have seen the turmoil in your heart, and I know what bothers you most," the woman said. This caught Erza completely by surprise, and she immediately tore her eyes away from the cake she was currently looking at to look at the woman who addressed her. She was not surprised by the fact that the woman knew her name, on the contrary, since Erza was quite a renowned person within Magnolia. She was more surprised by the overly confident statement of the woman at that moment, when she had claimed there was something that was bothering Erza at the moment. Said woman, on the other hand, had her eyes completely locked on Erza, giving the woman the odd feeling that she was being stripped naked by the woman and she was staring into her soul. This behavior could have been viewed by anyone who laid witness to it, however, at the moment; the people in the store could care less about what went on between two people within the store, choosing to indulge themselves in their own pleasantries instead.

Erza then caught the faint trace of a grin appearing on the woman's visage, and immediately, she realized that the woman was mocking her and she was an enemy in disguise, having infiltrated Magnolia for some unknown reason. Not one to take provocation lightly, of course, Erza immediately stretched out her hand underneath the table, away from the woman's gaze, preparing herself for the probable battle that lay ahead. It didn't come, however, as the woman spoke up again, addressing Erza in that all too familiar hushed tone of hers. Erza had to admit, she exercised precise caution in whatever she was doing at the moment. "It's no use, Titania. You could never hope to defeat me if you decided to battle me." This came as a shock to Erza, as she had not expected that woman to sense what Erza was doing at the moment. But, the negative emotions she was currently feeling towards the woman did not end just there. A frown immediately appeared on Erza's face, and her earlier flamboyant mood, as she enjoyed the cake placed on her table, all but disappeared. She glared daggers at the woman, who still had that annoying grin on her face that gave Erza the uncanny feeling she was being underestimated. She was Titania, and she was never underestimates, she thought, as she clenched her free hand underneath the table. She intended to make the woman swallow all her words, for all intents and purposes.

However, all the anger that had been welling up in Erza ebbed away as soon as it had appeared, at the woman's next statement. She seemed like she was not quite done with addressing Erza. "Still not going to relent, are we? But are you sure about this? If you decide to fight me here, our lives are not going to be the only ones at risk," she added on, and then she shifted her gaze away from Erza, looking at the table that was neighboring the one she and Erza were sharing at the moment. With this glance, Erza understood the unsaid message she had relayed just then. If Erza decided to get caught up in a fight just then, the civilians that were in the shop with them would have their lives forfeit. As headstrong as Erza was, there was no way she was going to risk the lives of innocent civilians at the provocations of someone who she still had no clue of. Realizing this, she immediately released her hand, and subsequently withdrew her other hand underneath the table, which was in the process of gathering magic. She then cast her gaze downwards, in an attempt to calm herself, and keep her eyes averted away from the woman, trying to avoid the unsaid provocations which originated from her gaze. Luckily, she regained her usual composure after a few seconds, but even then, she still chose not to give any response to the woman.

"Well, it seems that you still do have some form of manners after all, doesn't it?' The woman said, and upon receiving no response from Erza, the smile on her face receded a little into a frown. Still, she was not as petty as to draw joy from provoking others, so she decided to explain Erza as to the reason why she had told her that she sensed the unrest in her heart earlier. "I have the answers you seek, Erza Scarlet, plus the answers about someone else in your heart at the moment," the woman told Erza. This piqued Erza's interest, as she looked up into the woman's eyes, which held an unreadable expression in them at the moment. All hints of amusement had disappeared from the woman's expression and Erza felt her breath catching in her throat, wondering what she was going to say next. A small part of her, however, wondered who specifically the woman was referring to when she mentioned the person in Erza's heart at the moment.

The stranger then passed a book across the table to Erza, keeping her palm over the cover, preventing Erza from seeing the name of the book. It held the appearance of any other book, and for a moment Erza found her curiosity diminishing slightly at the sight of such an ordinary looking book.

"This book will give you the answers you seek. If you so wish to discover the secrets it holds, I suggest you give it a look. But then again, the decision solely lies with you," the woman explained, as she finally released her hand over the book. Erza looked at the name of the book, and silently muttered to herself," The Book of the Moon?" This sent her mind into disarray, and she looked to the woman, asking her to verify why she gave her that book. Alas, the seat opposite Erza was unoccupied as it had been earlier, leaving her to herself as she had been before her company was intruded upon by the woman. The red haired woman batted an eyebrow in surprise, as she realized that she had not even sensed the woman take her leave, through whichever means she had, adding to the fact that she had said Erza could never hope to win against her. She looked around her, meeting the faces of most of the people within the café at that moment, and with a rising sense of alarm, realized that none of them had caught wind of anything that had happened at her table. They were still acting as normally as they had been prior to the visit by Erza.

 **A/N:** I hope that was a good start to the second of my Naza stories, and I hope that this story will be enjoyable to all of you. Thanks for reading!


	2. Moon Island

**Chapter 2**

 **Moon Island**

The sound of the turn of a page of a book slowly invaded the serene atmosphere within a certain girl's room, and her eyes slowly moved to the top page of the book she was currently endorsed in. Erza Scarlet was currently sprawled atop her bed in the vicinity of her room, which was situated in the girl's dormitory for her guild, Fairy Hills. Ever since she had that encounter with the mysterious woman in her cake shop, she had decided to have a look at the book that she was given, for better or for worse. She could deny the growing curiosity she felt at the sight of such a book. Choosing not to inform anyone in the guild about what the strange meeting she had, she went through the book in the silence of a room. However, as she turned the pages of the book for the umpteenth time, she was now not sure whether she had chosen the right decision.

It wasn't because of the fact the book possessed any danger. She had yet to come across any dangers from the book, which meant that it was probably unlike the books of old that belonged to the great Dark Wizard, Zeref. On the contrary, the piece of literature seemed to be as harmless as any other book that was within the library at the base of the guild. For a moment she had wondered whether she had not come across the same book within the treasure trove of books the guild possessed. No, it wasn't due to anything as complicated as that. The primary reason that Erza was finding it increasingly difficult to peruse through the books' contents was simply because she was finding the book to be utterly boring.

The red headed girl tried her hardest to understand the contents of the book, she really did, but each content seemed to hold information that she deemed unnecessary or of non-interest to her. There were pages that talked about how the Moon affected magic, and its potency to undo any magic, something that she had learnt from the rest of her teammates when they told her about the state of Galuna Island. There were also pages that talked about how the Lunar Cycle affected mages sometimes, and since she had never had of any cases within Magnolia, she did not bother to keep the information in mind. Perhaps Erza Scarlet was not well versed in reading such long and overly complicated pieces of literature. But then again, she thought to herself, she had been through a good number of the books that were currently in the Guild's possession, to further her knowledge regarding Magic, and some books had proved to be overly useful in gaining a handful of the sets of armor that were currently in her Arsenal. That was definitely not the case then.

As she flipped through another page of the book, now losing count of the page number she was in, she immediately realized the book reminded her quite a lot about Galuna Island. She had never given the island much thought ever since she and her teammates had managed to save the residents from a curse that had plagued them for a long time, but now that she thought about it, there was nothing really ground breaking about that island for her. The residents were all hospitable, and that was a blessing in its own way of course, but the rest of the island just felt….. _dull._ The same way she felt as she was browsing through the book. Suddenly, she felt irate with herself for going through with such a tiresome and fruitless activity. It was unlike her. Perhaps that woman had done something to interfere with her usual rhythm. Closing her eyes in exhaustion, she slowly began closing the book, when her eyes landed upon a particular piece of text that lay on the bottom of the page she was currently in.

As quickly as her focus was waning, it all came back in one wave of amazement. Widening the edges of the book so she would get a better view of the text she had seen, her eyes widened in surprise as she reread the text a couple more times to ensure that her eyes had not deceived her. Yes, she had definitely seen it. The words **'Lunar Armor'** had been engraved in bold at the end of one sentence. She immediately retraced the sentence to discover its context and where it came from, since the word 'Armor' had always appealed to her since she became a Mage. She was a bit like Lucy in that aspect, she supposed, since whenever she came across a certain piece of armor within literature pieces like this, she would set out to obtain it, and then add it to her collection with the help of her Spatial Magic. This time proved no different, it seemed to her, much less with such an alluring term as 'Lunar'; which meant of 'the moon', which she had always recognized as a breathtaking feature ever since she had broken out of her prison in the Tower of Heaven with the rest of the inmates who were there.

Awed, she read to herself the piece of context that had managed to capture her eyes,

"The Lunar Armor, less known as the Moon Armor, is said to be an ancient relic that was lost in the course of time to the residents of Moon Island, a piece of land located off the sea of Magnolia, a few paces away from Galuna Island. The relic itself, said to be one of the most powerful sets of armor to have ever been formed since the origin of Magic, was last seen within the island, by the predecessors of its current inhabitants. Currently, it is said that no one in the Island has seen or has knowledge of the armor's location, so it can be safely assumed that the treasure might be in some hidden location of the island."

As she took in each and every sentence of what she had read, Erza found herself growing increasingly and increasingly excited at the prospect of finding herself a piece of armor that was herald as a relic. It would be like a dream come true, and she was sure that with that she was bound to grow stronger, an afterthought which only served to increase the elation she was currently experiencing. Suddenly, the book that she had found to be unbearably boring a while back became lots more interesting, which was a bit odd, although she paid no heed to the unusual nature of the situation. Pleased that she had managed to obtain something that would be of great use to her, plus the destination of the treasure that would soon be hers, she now made to put the book to rest, her eyes still hovering over the pages of the book that her fingers were currently placed over, when they landed upon another set piece of the book, possibly juicier than the first one she had viewed sheer moments ago.

"Within the Island is said to also be a dragon in existence, among one of the few still present ever since the disappearance of dragons from the world in the year X777. Few have witnessed the creature of wonder, choosing to withhold the information from their comrades due to the sheer ridiculousness of the beast's magnificence. Then again, the rumors themselves are not exactly baseless, since some have claimed to have witnessed the Dragon in its human form, and it is said to be one of the residents of the island. The dragon itself is said to be the 'Lunar Dragon', the dragon of wishes and happiness, said to be able to grant the wishes of any who come across it."

As her dark eyes skimmed through the context which had caught her attention once more with the mere mention of the word 'Dragon', the image of a certain pink haired boy crossed her mind, and she found herself wondering just what had spurred on that. She was well aware of the presence of two other Dragon Slayers within her guild apart from Natsu Dragneel, the two being Gajeel Redfox and Wendy Marvell. While Wendy held a special place in her heart ever since she had been the one who had invited her to join Fairy Tail, and she was on so and so terms with Gajeel, neither good nor bad but just neutral, their silhouettes had not appeared in her mind when she had read the word 'Dragon.' The matter perplexed her, and she churned it to the way she had known Natsu longer than the other two, so she brushed it off. Still, she could not manage to eliminate the image of the scarf wearing man from her head, and realized what she had to do. No, what she wanted to do. She was going to ask him to accompany her to the 'Treasure Island' she had just found, in search of the armor she had discovered, plus it was also a good chance for Natsu to get some answers of his own.

Ever since she was friends with Natsu in her childhood, she had always heard him ramble on and on to the interested members of his guild about his adventures with his foster Dragon, Igneel. At first, Erza had found the stories to be unbelievable, but owing to the shine in his eyes each time he narrated his childhood tale, she realized that one could only carry a lie for so long. More likely than not, he was telling the truth. Additionally, the usually bright aura that Natsu exuded in his youth spoke volumes of his honest and kind-hearted nature, so Erza found it a bit of a tall tale that the man would lie about something as bizarre as dragons. Natsu went on and on with his stories, until the heart-wrenching part where his dragon just disappeared one day without any word or warning to his son. He then expressed his determination to locate his foster dad, beating his hand to his chest to express the resolution he felt towards his goal. Erza had found that optimistic side of him admirable, even though the two seldom talked in their childhood. Years passed, and Natsu's efforts to locate his dad only heightened similar to his age, but there had still not been a smudge of any information regarding Igneel's whereabouts. It saddened Erza a little, even as she put her best foot forward and encouraged Natsu to never give up. In the present, she had found a book that had just given the whereabouts of a dragon, information that seemed to elude Natsu as he grew up into the man he was. Perhaps this was his lucky break, Erza thought, a small smile gracing her facial features. Maybe Natsu could get the answers he wanted from the Lunar Dragon, and his lifelong goal, that had brought him more pain than joy, would finally come to an end. Erza felt a bit lonely at the thought of Natsu reuniting with his foster dad, and the two exiting Fairy Tail to go live their lives together in the home they had. Still, she convinced herself that Natsu's happiness was more important than anything at the moment, and if the time came that he had to leave, she would deal with it then. For now, what was important was first heading to the Island.

Erza Scarlet had not realized how much her mind had been preoccupied with the thoughts of Natsu Dragneel for a fair amount of seconds now. If she had, she decided to brush it off as concern for her friend due to how close the two were, but then again, concern only ran so deep, didn't it?

She closed the book after a few minutes if skimming in order to engrave the information she had obtained from there, keeping it to heart. She placed the book at her bedside, and as she left the room, she made sure to lock it, since she did not want anyone else to come across the treasure she had the luck of coming across. Such things only came once in a blue moon, and she realized that she did not want anyone to interfere with possible time she spent with Natsu alone. As she walked on in the corridors of the dormitory, she realized that she was growing increasingly excited at the prospect of being on a trip alone with the Dragon Slayer. Had she always been that way with him? She thought, as she paused momentarily, then realizing it was probably due to the book she had read, walked on in a bit of a hurry, her destination being the Fairy Tail guild hall in search for Natsu.

"Mirajane, where's Natsu?" The red haired woman asked once she had finally reached the guild's main building. The guild was quite populated at that time of the day, most of the members having come back from recent jobs they were on, and it was in a generally uppity mood, as was the usual state of the guild. As such, no one had really paid attention to Erza when she had entered and heads straight for the counter, intending to ask Mira the whereabouts of the pink haired Dragon Slayer. Mira was usually the person who was aware of where each member was and what they were doing, as she was the one who saw them off as they went out for jobs and verified their requests.

"Natsu?" The white haired woman echoed to herself as she was cleaning some of the used glasses. "Hm, the last I saw him he had been on a job with Happy," she continued, looking to the air around her in an attempt to clear the uncertainty she had regarding the Dragon Slayer's current whereabouts. Erza's heart sunk a little at the thought of Natsu still being out on a mission, and she sulked inwardly at the thought of having to wait for him to return, since by then the excitement she was experiencing would have surely waned. She wanted to see him then. As if in resonance with her current train of thoughts, Mira beamed as she turned to face the red haired woman, finally remembering. "Ah, that's right. He returned a day ago, and since then he has been cooped up in his house with Happy. He hasn't been to the guild for any other request since he came back."

 _Perfect!_ Erza exclaimed inwardly, making sure to conceal the relief she had regarding Natsu. She smiled at Mira, before thanking her and setting off for Natsu's home. Luckily to her, she still remembered vividly the location of his abode, being located in the midst of a few trees just within the town's borders. She set off from the guild, the pace in her steps quickening ever so slightly as she did not want to miss catching Natsu. If she wasn't careful, there was a chance he would probably come storming to the guild hall in a couple more hours, in search for another job. He was just that boisterous of a man, Erza thought, stifling a giggle that almost escaped her palate.

Within half an hour, she had arrived at the location of his house, a bit surprised as she was the first time she had been there at how desolate the area was. She was startled to discover that Natsu lived there with his Exceed, but then again, he did not seem one to care about such trivial things. One time she had been there accompanied by Lucy HeartFilia, Gray Fullbuster and Wendy Marvell, the trio of girls had decided to do a general clean-up of the place, much to Natsu's chagrin and Happy's delight. It took them an awfully long time to get the place spick and span, but to their absolute horror, the next day their efforts were reduced to naught owing to the wrecked manner they had found the house in. Since then, there had been a unison acceptance from the girls to never bother grooming Natsu Dragneel's abode. Erza immediately felt a slight sense of dread at the thought of entering the man's abode for what would be the first time in eons, before she caught sight of a silhouette a few paces outside the run down house. Upon seeing a much smaller silhouette airborne next to the first one she had spotted, she recognized the two as Happy and Natsu, feeling relieved that she did not have to look long before locating him.

Natsu Dragneel had his hands beneath him and his legs upwards, as he was engaging in his usual routine of training. As he hoisted his body in the air for the umpteenth time, Happy cheering him on the sidelines and offering him encouragement, he became aware of the sound of a set of marching footsteps headed his way. Releasing himself from his current upside down position, he settled himself on the ground beneath him, his legs crossed, just in time to witness the approaching form of a red haired woman. A bit surprised, as he had not expected to encounter Erza Scarlet anytime soon, his mind currently occupied with the thoughts of what the next job he would choose would be, he called out to his friend.

"Yo, Erza. What brings you here today?"

Erza, who had finally reached level with the pink haired man, realized the rather….unique state he was in. His scarf was tied atop his head, and the upper half of his body was currently unclothed. On his lower half, he had his trademark set of white pants, and his feet were in a similar state as his torso. Fortunately, or unfortunately, Erza could trace the faint trails of perspiration that followed their way down his chest to his abdomen, and there she was treated to the even more luscious site of his wonderfully well endowed stomach. She had not paid much attention to it in the past, but now that she could see it up close and in private, she realized that it made Natsu…. _attractive._ At this thought, she felt her insides squirm uncomfortably with a sensation of heat, which threatened to break out onto her cheeks, but she managed to restrain herself in time, refocusing her attention on the slightly unsettled expression on his face. Why was she suddenly being plagued with such thoughts about her longtime friend? She had expected it of course; it wasn't every day that Erza paid him a visit, so she had to inform him of why she had come there soon.

Beside the pink haired man, the blue haired cat welcomed Natsu's longtime friend with a certain upbeat nature to his voice," Erza! You can come in for some fish as you talk to Natsu!" Erza chuckled a little; that was so like Happy. However, she did not have time to dwindle around in Natsu's abode, her earlier sense of dread threatening to crop up within her again. She had to set off with him as soon as possible.

"No thank you, Happy. Actually, I came here to tell Natsu about something," she said, refocusing her gaze to the man who was still seated on the ground, who was now looking at her curiously. Slowly, and in a way he could understand, Erza narrated the story she had seen from the book she had been coursing through earlier, watching him nod his head in affirmation. At one point, his mouth was slightly opened in amazement, and a slight "Ooooooh!" escaped him. The red haired woman made sure to leave out the part regarding the armor that she had come across, being sure that the man would not be interested with such a trivial manner. It was a bit of a disappointment, but as long as she could persuade him to come with her with the promise of finding more information regarding his foster parent, she was content with that. And she couldn't have been more right.

Once she had completed her story, she saw the usual gleam in his eyes which denoted his excitement and happiness at the thought of going on an adventure, with the prospect of finding Igneel's location. He clenched his fists in happiness, his body inching closer to Erza in a silent display of the appreciation he was now feeling towards her. Erza did not miss this radiant aura that now emanated from her male counterpart, allowing herself a small smile at seeing him so delighted. She realized that was probably one of the reasons she liked Natsu so much; his contagious smile that also brought out a sense of happiness in her. It was most likely the same case with everyone else who knew him.

"That's great Erza! Thanks a lot for the info! We should probably tell Gajeel and Wendy about this!" Natsu exclaimed in glee, to the red haired girl's slight dismay. She should have expected this from Natsu, he was usually not reserved about bits of information like this. Still, this time she was not sure she would be comfortable with other people tagging along in something that she intended for only her and the pink haired man. She had to put her foot down, but could not deny the twinge if guilt she felt at acting that way. For a while, she wondered whether that had been selfish of her, but decided to follow her heart and say what she really wanted.

"No, Natsu. I don't think we should tell the others about this yet," Erza replied to his earlier statement, almost as soon as he had finished it. She was not sure whether she had spoken too soon, but now that all was said and done, she had to go through with it and come up with a convincing story for him to follow along with. However, unknown to her, the blue haired cat that was still afloat next to her and Natsu had seen her behavior just then, and something struck in him. Something was odd about Erza. Happy chose not to speak, however, deciding to keep his silence and see how things would unfold before taking action.

"The information might not be correct. I mean, it may be a hoax, and if we bring Gajeel and Wendy, they'll just be disappointed. I say the two of us should go first, then if anything happens we will contact the others," she explained, struggling to keep her voice as calm as possible and to hide the dismay she still felt from Natsu's earlier suggestion. It still bothered her, but it ebbed away as she saw the understanding look on Natsu's face. He took in every word she said, keeping one finger under his chin as he tried to understand what Erza was talking about. Well, he had to admit she did make a fair point. There would have been no point in leading his friends on a wild goose chase and having to witness their masks of displeasure in the case that everything turned out to be a hoax. It would be the entire better if he and Erza went first, and if anything happened, the others would be well informed in time.

Realizing the logic behind Erza's statement, and to Erza's relief, not noticing the fib behind her words, he nodded his head in agreement to Erza's suggestion. Erza noticed his affirmation to suggestion, and she had not been quite as thankful for Natsu's denseness as at that moment. Next to her, however, Natsu could not hide the growing sense of happiness that welled up in him at the thought of going on another job so soon. It certainly saved him the trouble of having to sort his way through a cluster of requests before finding the right one. Subsequently, there was also the chance that he could witness some new things on the island Erza had mentioned, not to mention, a dragon! Who in their right mind wouldn't want that?! A small part of him, however, was delighted at the chance that he would be spending time with one of his closest friends, Erza Scarlet. With her around, everything was bound to turn out okay. What could possibly go wrong?

His mind made up firmly, he stood up from the ground swiftly, taking Happy and Erza slightly by surprise. He turned to Happy first," Happy, you stay here. In case we take too long coming back, inform the others." It wouldn't hurt to exercise a little bit of caution, Natsu thought, as he instructed the Exceed. Once he was sure that Happy had understood, he rushed into his house to get his things ready. After 10 minutes or so, which was an astonishingly fast pace for anyone to prepare themselves according to Erza and Lucy, he got out again, his backpack in tow and sporting the usual black jacket that adorned his torso. The smile on his face and the giggles that escaped his mouth as he walked back to Erza were a testament to the growing excitement he was feeling, and Erza, not wanting to waste a second further, immediately prepared herself mentally to set off with him.

However, once Natsu was level with Erza, he realized that he had forgotten one important thing. Something that haunted him each time he was about to set off for a job. Nervous sweat breaking out on his forehead, he mechanically turned his head to look at Erza, dreading that she would not give him the answer he disliked most regarding how they were going to get to Moon Island.

"Um, Erza, how are we going to get to the island?" He asked, nervousness dripping out of each word that escaped his mouth. The answer was already evident to him before Erza had opened her mouth to concede, filling him with the earlier sense of worry and dread he had experienced.

"What do you mean how? Of course we are going by ship," Erza replied, well aware of Natsu's phobia of any form of transport. Teasing him like that was fun too, and the expression he had made just as she had replied to him was golden. Happy thought the same too.

As expected, on the trip to Moon Island, Natsu had found himself sick to his stomach, unable to move as he was experiencing his usual bout of motion sickness. The two had managed to successfully find a ship leading to Moon Island, and by some stroke of luck according to Erza, they were the only two aboard the ship. According to the captain of the ship they had boarded, very few people boarded ships headed to the Island, not due to fear or anything, but more of the belief that there was really nothing of interest to see on the island. Currently, the duo of Natsu and Erza were in the ship's cabin, having being informed that they would be at the island by dusk.

As Natsu struggled with his motion sickness, his head sprawled on the wooden seat of the cabin they were in and looking as if he were about to die the next moment, an idea immediately popped up in Erza's mind as she watched him. She had been disappointed at first since she was unable to hold a proper conversation with the motion sick man, choosing to indulge her with a view of the sea that was outside. Her focus shifted occasionally between the man next to her and the sea, as she looked for something she could engage in to have fun. Erza Scarlet was never one to leave herself idle. Noticing Natsu's agony, and the constant swaying of the ship that only fueled to increase his discomfort, she immediately moved to act. Slowly, she stretched out her hands, growing increasingly aware of the heat that was steadily riding in her. She had done this millions of times before, right? So why then was she feeling flustered then? This time, she could not do much to hide the blush that stained her cheeks as she took Natsu's head and placed it gently on her lap, making sure that he was as comfortable as possible. At least that way, he would rest easy till they reached their destination. Unfortunately, feeling the warmth from Natsu's head on her thighs made her grow more embarrassed, but counting her lucky stars, realized that Natsu was not in a state to notice the manner in which she was blushing furiously at that moment. Within a matter of moments, the man had fallen sound asleep upon Erza's lap, much to her pleasure. He was finally starting to feel better. As the red haired girl watched his slumbering form on her lap, she could not help but notice the manner in which his hair rose steadily with his breath. He had such a lovely shade of hair. Erza had never quite seen hair that bright in her entire life, but then again, she wasn't one to speak since her own shade of crimson hair had drawn a few looks from strangers when she carried out her business. It was quite ironic, she thought. She looked at his slumbering form, a warm smile on her face. She wondered what it would be like to touch his hair.

The moment the thought crossed her mind, the shade of red on her cheeks, which had been receding moments ago, deepened and she had to hold her breath for minute. Her heart had skipped a beat. There was definitely something wrong with her that day, and Erza wondered if it had something to do with the woman she had encountered in the cake shop. Could it have been because of her? No, it was too much of a long shot. Calming herself down as she tried to recompose herself, she attempted to rid herself of the thoughts about touching Natsu's hair, but with each attempt she realized her curiosity only welled deeper and deeper. There was no way to fight it now. Relenting, she slowly raised her right hand from her side, and placed it atop his mass of unruly hair, gently so as not to wake him up, although she was not even sure if he would even be able to tell anyway, she slowly passed her hands through his hair. They slid in smoothly between his hair, and Erza realized just how soft it felt to touch. Had it always been this way? She wondered, and unable to help her, slowly ruffled her hands through his hair. It was amusing; she had to admit, likening it to playing with a teddy bear. Except in this case, well she wasn't sure just what sort of relationship she had with her teddy bear. As she enjoyed the soft feel to his hair, she did not realize that she was beginning to feel drowsy herself, and within a matter of minutes, she had fallen asleep, her had still on her dragon slayer's hair. She had a peaceful sleep, dreaming of things that she had not dreamed of before, but she felt….happy. Everything was perfect, just like it was supposed to be.

Hours passed, and the captain of the ship returned to call them. They had finally arrived at Moon Island.

….


	3. Valeria

**Chapter 3**

 **Valeria**

Once he informed his passengers that they had arrived at their destination, the captain left the room just as Erza was waking. Her eyes drifted open, her senses telling her that she had been asleep for a short time, albeit unintentionally. She felt a small load on her lap and shifted her gaze there, to be reminded that her pink haired comrade had his head rested their due to her attempts to try and reduce his motion sickness.

Tapping him on the shoulder, she woke him up," Natsu, we're here." Luckily enough the boat had stopped moving, meaning his bout of sea sickness was about to come to an end. However, a small part of Erza was disappointed as she had not expected the trip to come to an end so soon. She had not exactly had enough time to relish in the pleasure of having him rested on her lap, but still, all good things had to come to an end. Natsu opened his eyes slowly, registering that the ship's movement had ceased and that he was resting upon a warm surface, causing him to jolt upwards as he steadied himself to focus on his surroundings. His sudden gesture took Erza slightly aback, and she drew back her hands momentarily as he lifted his head off her.

After a couple of seconds of looking around as he tried to take in what was happening, a smile broke out on his face when his eyes rested on Erza's visage," Thanks, Erza! I had a really good nap because of you!"

Erza jerked her shoulders backward momentarily, further surprised by his blatant honesty. As she regarded his radiant face and his honesty, she felt her heart melt a little, smiling back herself in response to him. Still, she could not help but be disappointed a little.

 _He didn't realize what I was trying to do._

Before she could be allowed to wade in these thoughts, Natsu grabbed her hand and made for the shore, leaving through the ship's entrance.

"Let's go!" He said brightly, looking back at her with his radiant smile still etched on her face, and Erza felt her heart melt again at the sight of his precious mug. All her earlier negative thoughts seemed to dissipate, as she realized they were not worth agonizing over, and she allowed herself to be carried by him. It felt kind of nice.

Once the two had landed on the sandy shore of the island, Erza spared a glance behind to thank the captain for his assistance, but the words seemed to get stuck in her throat as she realized he was looking back at her with a grim expression.

"What's wrong?" She asked in a hesitant manner, suddenly doubtful of whether they had done the right thing by coming to the island mentioned in the book. Said book was at the moment safely tucked away in her pocket dimension.

The old captain simply shook his head before speaking up in a husky voice, "I had my reservations about bringing you to this island, but to be honest with you I don't think it was worth the trip now that we've arrived."

Erza tilted her head in confusion, "I don't understand." The doubts in her heart had not reduced in the slightest, but luckily they did not seem to be growing as well.

The captain turned back, heading to the inner ship, "You'll see for yourselves."

The ship departed, leaving the duo of Fairy Tail mages on the shores of the unexplored island. The red haired knight turned back to face her pink haired partner, who was currently in the process of sniffing out the air around the island. He was trying to familiarize himself with the island's smell, Erza told herself, but then she caught the sight of something queer a fair distance away from where she was standing with Natsu.

It was a bit strange. The sun was shining high in the sky, illuminating all areas of the earth that were hit by its rays, but then, why was there only darkness lying in the path ahead of them? To make the matter seem more eerie, there were trees in the island, but not so many so as to prevent the light from seeping through, meaning that the trees were all evenly spaced. What then made the island seem as if it was only pitch darkness if they moved forward?

Natsu's mind seemed to mirror the same thoughts Erza was having at that moment, owing to how he lit his arm using his Dragon Flames. Of course, Erza needed not to be told that he intended to illuminate their path, as it was inevitable that they would be unable to see anything if they ventured deeper into the island. Looking at each other for a brief moment, as if seeking reassurance in each other's eyes, the duo of Mages pressed forward into the unknown realm. Once they had come a foot away from the unknown area, Erza stretched out her hand to feel the air before her, and once she was sure that there was no barrier of the sort or unseen hindrance before them, the two took a step to the other side.

What awaited them, of course, was something they would never have expected in all their lives.

The darkness that they had witnessed earlier suddenly seemed something out of their wildest dreams, as the area of the island they were currently on was well illuminated, however by a completely unprecedented light source. The sky itself radiated with the brilliance of over a million stars, giving the atmosphere the feel of a night sky on a particularly lovely evening. Around them, the trees seemed to sparkle, making the red haired girl wonder if there were stars upon them likewise. Beneath them, the sand at their feet was also glittering, and it looked as if some stars had fallen from the sky and came to rest at the ground beneath them. Everything seemed out of this world, making Erza have the impression that they had been thrust into a different world much like the Celestial Spirit World.

Beside her, of course, Natsu made no attempt to hide how amazed he was by their surroundings at the moment. His mouth was wide agape, and he seemed to be in a daze as his eyes drifted from corner to corner of the island. Occasionally, there were 'Ooohs' and 'Aaahs' that originated from his palate, as a testament to how he was impressed he was by the surroundings. As Erza looked at her teammate take in everything around him, she could not suppress a chuckle at how cute he looked at the moment. She realized that she had witnessed this reaction from him a few times in the past, but for some reason she could not place her finger on, it seemed to sink into her more in the present.

There was the sound of the rustling of leaves behind the two mages, and simultaneously, they shifted their gaze to the foreign sound.

A girl stood beside them, seemingly of the same age as Natsu. She had fair skin, and she was clad in a frilly dress that was snow white in color. It reached above her knees, and at the edges it had slits that were nearly visible from a distance. Her feet were bare, much like the First Master of Fairy Tail, Mavis Vermillion, something which Erza noted with a tinge of curiosity. Her hair itself was the same color as her dressing, falling freely to her shoulders. The girl looked at the red haired girl and the pink haired man for a few minutes each, before she took a bow.

"Welcome to this island, Erza Scarlet and Natsu Dragneel," she spoke in a sift tune full of respect. Erza was taken aback by her impromptu greeting, and much more by the fact that she knew who she and Natsu were, prompting her to speak up next, "How do you know who we are?"

The girl, who had stepped closer to them so as to have a closer look at them and as a show of her intentions of non-hostility, cleared her throat as she prepared herself to speak up once more. At the proximity she was with Natsu currently, the pink haired man could not help but notices that her eyes seemed like the sand on the ground beneath them, sparkling with certain brilliance to them. It seemed as if her eyes were constellations of stars, such as the sky above them. Like the island they were in, she did not seem as if she was a being that belonged to the reality Natsu and Erza lived in.

She spoke up again, in her soft voice. Something in her voice reminded the two Fairy Tail mages of how Wendy Marvell was when they had first met her. "My mother has been expecting the two of you for quite a while now." Pausing a little to catch her breath, she continued, "My name is Valeria. Come, I will take you to her."

She turned her back to them and began walking to the inner part of the island, not sparing as much as a backward glance at them. She seemed confident enough that they would follow her, and true enough, the two mages fell in step behind her and followed suit after her. Erza surmised that it would certainly not do them any good to linger around in an unknown area of the island for long since she had a set purpose in coming to the island in the first place, so their best gamble at the moment was following after the strange girl who had shown up after them. If her suspicions were correct, Erza had a feeling she knew who the girl's mother was, but for now she would follow quietly.

The same could not be said of the Dragon Slayer who was walking beside her, his arms folded behind his head as he whistled freely and followed suit after Valeria. A few seconds elapsed after the trio had been on their way to see the girls' mother, before Natsu spoke up," Hey, Valeria, this is a pretty neat place you have here!" He said in a cheerful manner, something that did not come as much of a surprise to Erza. She had been used to seeing Natsu act in this manner whenever he met someone new, but this time she was a bit wary since she was not sure how exactly Valeria would act to his rather boisterous personality.

To the red haired girl's surprise, the white haired enigma paused momentarily in her steps, looking back at Natsu with an unreadable expression on her visage. She soon resumed her steps, and the two mages behind her followed suit, before she looked back at Natsu again and Erza could make out the slightest traces of a smile at the corners of her lips, "Thank you, Natsu-san. It is my mother's work after all, so I'm happy someone else other than me loves it."

This statement made Erza curious, and she folded her arms at her chest as she pressed in forward, "What do you mean your mother's work?"

Valeria looked back at her as well, regarding her face curiously, before speaking up, "You'll find out when you meet my mom." Erza had began having the uncanny assumption that looking at people's faces before she replied was a quirk of hers, and it added to the list of weird things she knew about Valeria so far, aside from her lack of footwear.

However, something the white haired girl had said had perked Erza's curiosity. It was too eerily similar to what the captain of the ship they had used to get here had said earlier, along the lines of finding out things later. The more and more mysterious things seemed to happen ever since they had set foot upon the island, the more Erza was convinced that there was definitely something supernatural happening around them at the moment. She hoped that Valeria's mother would offer the answers to the steadily increasing questions she harbored.

Before long, a castle came into view, although it wasn't exactly a normal castle. It stood at a medium height, holding all the features a normal castle would have, such as the numerous windows plus wonderful demeanor. The castle itself, much like much of the island they had seen so far, was dazzling in appearance, and it gave the impression that it had just been polished mere seconds before Natsu and Erza appeared within its vicinity.

As expected, Natsu was also awed by the castle, placing his hand atop his head as he looked up and down the structure, but Valeria did not seem too keen on allowing them to waste any more time outside the castle. She opened the entrance to the castle, and Erza followed suit, tugging lightly at Natsu's arm as she passed by him. As she walked into the castle, she could not help but find an entirely new plethora of questions cropping up in her mind, all brought on by the structure they had come across. Just who on earth was Valeria's mother, and if she was such an important person, how come Erza had never heard of her before? Or anyone else in the guild, for that matter?

Ascending a few stairs with Natsu behind her and Valeria behind her, Erza's eyes darted around the castle as she took in the internal features. There certainly did not seem to be any anomalies, of course, but she could not help but note how sparse the rooms were in the structure. Wasn't a castle supposed to have a lot of rooms to accommodate the vast number of workers within it? To make the situation odder, on their way upwards, Erza did not see any other living souls within the castle walls, save for the three of them, something that stood out like a sore thumb. Weren't castles supposed to be bustling with servants and royal family members? Maybe that would help account for the sparse number of rooms within the castle, but Erza decided to rest her doubts as it was too vague at the moment to draw any speculations from.

A large door stood before the trio, and Valeria swung it open, to reveal a woman who was seated at the far edge of the room upon a large throne chair. Said woman had one of her hands rested underneath the side of her face, and upon seeing the people who had entered her room; a smile broke out onto her features. She had blonde hair and blue irises, and funny enough she was still clad in what Erza had seen here with earlier in the day when she had visited her in the restaurant. There was no mistaking it, this was the woman who the red haired girl had the pleasure of encountering in Magnolia, and by some bizarre turn of fate, she turned out to be Valeria's mother.

The door swung shut, and the woman spoke up, in a voice that held a tone of authority.

"Welcome, Natsu Dragneel and Erza Scarlet to my realm. My name is Selene, the Moon Dragon."

 **A/N:** A short update I know, and way overdue, but this chapter was a bit difficult to write, although I managed to include what I needed, particularly on Valeria and Selene, who will play a really huge role in future chapters. I hope you all like this chapter, and again, forgive me if its too short. I promise the following ones will be longer.


	4. Erza and Selene

**Chapter 4**

 **Erza and Selene**

"A Dragon? You're a Dragon?" Natsu repeated the query, finding himself absolutely astonished by the revelation. To make the matter seem more unbelievable, the woman before them had revealed her affinity, something that left him speechless for a few minutes.

His initial thought was that Selene was bluffing. There was no way that she was a Dragon, but the fact that the expression on her face had not changed ever since she had made that revelation had not changed one bit ever since she had welcomed both him and Erza was not helping the matter.

The blonde woman regarded him curiously for a moment, before responding," Yes. You don't believe me?" She proceeded to raise her hands before her, and where before they had been human hands, with the pale color of her skin; her skin was now covered in scales. The scales themselves were a pale grey color, much like the color of the full moon if you bothered to look at the sky on a night when it was out.

Revealing her scales like this had caused Natsu to freak out more than he already had. His mouth wide agape, he pointed at the woman before him feebly, his hand shaking in disbelief in the air and the words getting stuck in his mouth, coming out as one broken stutter. His eyes constantly shifted between the red headed girl next to him, and the woman in front of them. He was genuinely dumb founded, something that Serene picked up on and found slightly amusing, as a small smile formed up on the edges of her lips, something that Erza and Natsu were not privy to.

She opted to continue with her current situation. "Of course, humanoid dragons like me tend to seclude themselves in hidden areas like mountains or islands that most people do not frequent like mine own here, but that's beside the point."

At that moment, a memory prodded at the back of Erza's mind and the words of the captain as they disembarked off the ship once they had reached the island replayed in her mind.

 _I had my reservations about bringing you to this island, but to be honest with you I don't think it was worth the trip now that we've arrived._

She wondered whether what Selene had just told them had to do with what they had been told. Realizing that there was no point in mulling over her suspicions and letting they foster in her, she decided to confirm them from the woman before them. "When we first arrived here, the captain of the ship we were on told us that he had his reservations about bringing us here. What did he mean by that?"

The blonde woman tilted her head to the side," Oh, about that. The island itself is sort of… _special._ Landing on it is quite the simple task, but the real hard part is what comes afterwards."

Erza did not say anything, only remembering vaguely how she had expected a barrier of sorts to be erected at the island's entrance. Her silence prompted Selene to continue," There's the outer part of the island, where you two disembarked from your ship. That's the part that almost anyone can access, provided they have sheer knowledge of the island before. Once you take a few steps into the island, though, there's a barrier that prevents any uninvited guests from making their way further in. The barrier separates the outer part of the island from the sector we are in now, this area that you found the sky littered with stars and the moon's shine. And as I said earlier, it's impossible to just traverse from the outer to the inner area of the island."

That came as a bit of a surprise to Erza. "But…"

"You two had the book that I gave you, Erza Scarlet, which came as an added advantage to you. Of course, the moment that I met you I had already given you a pass to come here of your own volition, but the book itself also acted as a pass of sorts, so you managed to bypass the barrier and access the innermost parts of the island."

Selene's explanation just then unwittingly drew the pink haired man's attention, and he had forgotten the stupor he was in before regarding Selene's identity. While he had never heard anything before of Dragons being able to change their form back into humans again, he decided that the best thing to do was take the matter with a grain of salt and focus on what he had just heard. "Book? What book is she talking about, Erza?" He had not heard anything about a book, ever since Erza had whisked him from her home and tagged her along on the trip they were currently on.

Erza turned to look at her companion hesitantly, not exactly sure how to break it to him that the reason that they were on this island at the moment is because she had read something that she figured would interest him. She had not realized until that moment how silly it would be to admit that she had probably come here on a wild goose chase, but before she could tell anything to Natsu, the blonde woman who was sharing their company interjected and responded to the Dragon Slayer.

"Natsu-kun, could you allow me and Erza to discuss this matter in private? In the meantime, you could spend some time with my daughter. She's just outside this door."

The male folded his hands over his chest, closing his eyes and bobbing his head from side to side as he pandered over the decision. Well, whatever it was that he was being sent out, he figured that it was probably something that was between Erza and the strange woman. Perhaps it was what had triggered this entire thing in the first place. If that was the case, then he placed his faith in Erza telling him all about it when all was said and done.

Selene continued, quite aware of the distress that Natsu was experiencing at the moment, but even then, she knew that there was something vital that she needed to discuss with Erza and her alone, " She's wanted to meet you for a while now, you know. I'd be happier if you obliged her and spent a little time with her."

There was still a hint of uncertainty in Natsu's face, so he looked to his red haired teammate to know what she had to think of the matter. Erza nodded assuredly at him, in a way telling him that she would be okay even if he wasn't there.

 _Why not?_

He finally assented, leaving the room and allowing the two women inside privacy to discuss whatever they wanted.

Once the two women were left alone, Erza turned her gaze back at the woman who was their host. "There was no reason to send him away, you know. I was the one that brought him here with me, so he has as much right as me to know what's going on here."

Now that she realized what she had said, what had caused her to bring Natsu along in the first place?

"Don't be like that, Erza Scarlet." Selene sounded surprisingly relaxed as she addressed Erza this time. Was it due to the fact that Natsu was no longer there? "I needed to talk to you about something."

The female Knight was still not sure what to make of the woman. On one hand, she wanted to trust what she had to tell her, but on the other hand, she had to remind herself that she knew next to nothing about her, so it was best to keep her guard up at all costs.

"Earlier, you talked about secluding yourself. That doesn't add up with you showing up at Magnolia," Erza started, after she took a while to realize that the conversation had been thrown in her court. Well, staying silent would not help, so the best thing to do was see what the blonde woman had to say.

Selene smiled a little from where she was seated on her seat, before getting off the perched furniture. Erza, who was still standing, was surprised a little by the sudden gesture, but she was still able to keep a mask of coolness and calmness on her visage. Slowly, the blonde woman descended from the flight of stairs that separated her from the ground, and the only thing between her and Erza.

"Actually, that's what I wanted to talk to you about."

Erza did not look impressed at all by that answer, "So this has something to do with why you approached me in the cake shop then?" Something prickled at the forefront of her mind then. "Come to think of it, why did you approach me then?"

Selene reached the foot of the stairs, where she now stood a few paces away from the red haired wizard. For a moment, nothing was said between them. The Dragon then stretched out her hands before her, and in front of them, a table appeared, accompanied by a set of chairs for both Erza and Selene. The act surprised Erza, although it wasn't hard to figure out that Selene had conjured the items before them. On the table, there was a glass jug filled with a red liquid and two glasses stood on the opposite sides of the table.

"Let me ask you, in return, why did you choose to come here? You still came to the island either way. Why is that, I wonder?"Selene asked, taking a seat opposite Erza and filling up her glass with wine.

Shortly after, Erza took her seat opposite the woman, finally caving in to the nagging pain that was at her knees for a while now. Once seated, her eyes wandered absently to the jug that was placed at the middle of the table, and similarly the parched feeling in her throat grew more persistent.

The blonde woman seemed to read Erza's mind just then, as she proceeded to invite her to enjoy herself. "Go on. I won't be able to finish all of this by myself, you know. And you are a guest here, after all." There was a small hint of amusement in her voice just then that Erza couldn't help but notice.

She remained silent a while longer, this time studying the contents of the jug a while longer and it didn't take her long to realize that the jug held wine. It seemed to be a tad different from the wine which Mirajane usually served at the guild hall, so a slight fear gripped Erza's heart just then.

"Well, the thing is, I'm afraid I don't go too well with wine, or…any other alcoholic drinks for that matter," Erza admitted in a begrudging tone of sorts. It was surprisingly true, for as long as she could remember, Erza Scarlet could never hold her liquor. A few sips of alcohol would usually throw her off her usual serious demeanor, turning her into someone who none of the guild members recognized, if what Cana and Mira said were true of the few moments she went out with them for the night.

"Don't worry, the drink isn't laced with alcohol, much less poison if that's also something holding you back," Selene reassured the girl, surprising her on the latter part of her sentence. Erza looked up at the woman, realizing that the woman was more perceptive than she had initially thought. Even though, she did not see any particular reason for the woman to lie to her at this point, even after she had gone to this extent to make Erza comfortable in her own quarters, so she took her on her offer and poured herself some of the wine that was set before her.

Once she had taken a sip of the liquid and realized that it was sweeter than she had even expected it to be, she finally found herself comfortable enough to answer the question that had been posed to her earlier.

"Regarding your earlier question," Erza said, before waving her hand in the air and having a book materialize in it moments later. For safekeeping, she had decided to keep the Book of the Moon in her pocket dimension, something that had nearly slipped her mind before Selene had mentioned it earlier.

Selene took note of the book in Erza's hands before speaking up this time," I see. It's about that book then," she sipped another helping of wine from her glass.

"For starters, what is this book? It doesn't strike me exactly as an ordinary book," Erza started, once she had placed the book on the table in front of her. The question that had been nagging in the annals of her mind resurfacing, she reiterated to Selene all the events that had occurred ever since she had received the book, even adding that ever since she had received the book, she had felt somewhat _compelled_ to head out in search of the island, and for an even odder reason she had wanted to come with Natsu no matter what.

Once she was done with her story, Erza realized how flushed her cheeks felt, and in an attempt to calm her nerves and steady her heartbeat which had gone sporadic momentarily, she closed her eyes nonchalantly.

Surprisingly, the amused expression that had been on Selene's visage for a while now did not abate, and she crossed one of her legs over the other under the table before answering," About that, hmm, let's see, where do I start? I have the ability to peer into the hearts of humans."

Erza's eyes widened in genuine surprise for a minute as she was genuinely at a loss for words, but she did not say anything, prompting her companion to continue," When I first met you, Erza, well, it was something I had not expected so soon on my first time in the city, I saw into your heart and saw that you harbored feelings for a certain boy."

Selene didn't need to say anymore after that, the blush that covered Erza's cheeks and face were all that were needed to be said in that moment.

"So basically, the book itself is enchanted by my abilities, meaning that ever since it fell into your hands, it would cause you to pursue whoever you had in your heart, and you would definitely come to this island looking for answers. Yeah, I know it sounds corny, but that's the general gist of things."

There was a slight pause as Erza let in the words of her companion sink in. It had sounded completely ridiculous when Selene had finished explaining it to her at first, but the more she pandered on it, the more and more things seemed to make sense for her, at least everything ever since she had gotten the book first made sense now. Even her unusual direct nature in her advances on Natsu when they were in the ship.

Those were some really embarrassing things.

Still, there was one thing that didn't add up, even after all was said and done.

"Why did you choose me? I mean, there's nothing at all that special about me, right?"

"I wouldn't say that, of course, Erza Scarlet. You're one of the strongest female mages in Fiore. My daughter is an aspiring wizard, so well; I wanted her to meet someone like you. About Natsu-kun, well, initially I didn't expect the spell I cast on the book to work that effectively, it's been ages since anyone else other than me has handled the book, but I'm still glad that you brought him along."

The red haired knight was puzzled by that piece of information, but before she could inquire any longer, Selene continued.

"Oh, I forgot to mention it, but my Valeria is a Dragon Slayer, and she's always looked up to Salamander. And well, she can get quite… _insistent_ when she sees something that she likes and wants."

So the blonde had not been lying earlier when she had sent off Natsu to go and interact with Valeria. That helped Erza relax a little around the woman, although not entirely.

"I see, well, that clears most of the things up. Thank you, I suppose."

Selene did not seem quite done with Erza, however, owing to the curious glance that she shot in her direction. When Erza did not say anything for a couple of minutes, she decided to spurn her on," But, that's not the only reason you came here for, was it?"

Funny enough, that matter had nearly slipped Erza's mind completely and slowly but surely, she began recalling the contents that she had read from the book itself.

She was not sure particularly where to start, as one of the mysteries was all but resolved before she could even raise it. And asking Selene out of the blue about Igneel would seem a little off place at the moment, so she had to go with her second option.

"I apologize if this comes off as rude, but I happened upon something in the book that caught my attention."

"The Lunar Armor."

Well, what did you know; this would make things easier by a long shot.

"Yes, it's about the armor actually. I was wondering whether I could have a look at the armor itself, well, if you knew anything regarding to its location."

This time, contrary to all the other times in the conversation, Selene actually waited a little before answering. She looked to the side, her arms folded across her chest and a pensive look on her visage.

A few seconds elapsed of silence between the two women, which was actually a first ever since the conversation had started, before the blonde finally spoke up," Yes, yes, I have heard rumors of the armor pop up here and there, but unfortunately, none of them gave any specifics location of where the armor is. So as much as it shames me to say it, I'm pretty much on the same boat as you as far as the issue is concerned."

The answer, as expected, was quite the downer, and this time, as much as she tried, Erza could not mask the glaring disappointment that showed on her face. She had always particularly enjoyed the prospect of collecting new armor, or even sometimes just viewing the sets themselves, whether they were set up for display somewhere or whether it was a relic…such as in the current island they were in. Yeah, she was weird like that.

As usual, Selene was privy to her current mood, and felt slightly terrible for being the one to disappoint this time. Still, all wasn't exactly for naught.

"Why not do this? You're welcome to stay here for as long as you wish with your comrade, and in the meantime, you can look around the island for the armor to your heart's extent? How does that sound?"

Erza had not expected such a deal to be sprung on her impromptu, and there was a hesitation in her at first when the question was asked. Still, she had to consider it a while before answering. Leaving right now would mean that the entire trip was a waste of time, and it would most likely leave a terrible taste in her mouth.

Staying here for a while, on the other hand, seemed to have more pros than cons. For starters, Natsu could get to socialize with a Dragon Slayer he would not have met otherwise, and she had the chance to add on an amazing set of armor to her collection. Additionally, a nice change of pace was always welcome, right?

It sounded more appealing the more she thought of it, so the decision was already set in stone.

She turned to face Selene. "We accept your offer."

 **A/N:** Too lazy for author notes at the moment, but I can say this.

.Continued.


	5. Natsu & Valeria

**Chapter 5**

 **Natsu & Valeria**

The young girl and pink haired boy were currently within a small garden outside the castle, both of them seated on the soft grass that covered the vast majority of the garden.

It felt slightly nostalgic to Natsu, being in a place like this with the younger girl. A memory prodded in his mind, and he was reminded of the first time that he had met Wendy Marvell, although at the moment it was under more…dire circumstances. He didn't entirely have the luxury of having a peaceful talk with Wendy like he was just having with Valeria at the , coming to think about it, meeting other Dragon Slayers had never been under entirely normal circumstances like his current meeting with the snow haired girl. It felt amazingly refreshing.

However, normalcy wasn't entirely going to be a familiar concept to the male Dragon Slayer while on the island. Like most of the things that Natsu had come across while on the island, the grass itself wasn't the usual lush of green he was used to seeing when in Magnolia.

It was….silver.

Ordinarily, at first one would think that the sheen of silver that could be seen on the grass's surface was just the reflection of the moon's light on the surface.

That wasn't entirely it though.

Taking a tuft of the grass that was strewn all round him and Valeria, Natsu peered at it closer since it had sparked his curiosity, and true to what the eye could see, the grass was indeed silver in color. Aside from the stark contrast in color with the grass he was used to seeing everywhere in Magnolia, it didn't seem all that different in anything else.

He turned to Valeria, a flurry of statements already forming in his mind and on the tip of his tongue about what he had just come across, although the snow haired woman seemed to have already guessed whatever Natsu was about to say. Her hand was tracing lines along the surface of the ground whereby the grass was growing peacefully, and she seemed to have been caught in a trance herself as to how breathtaking the sight was. As many times as she had seen this sight and walked through this garden, she never got tired of letting herself get caught up in the breathtaking scenery once in a while.

It was one of the few things her mother had taken pride in, being the owner of the island and all.

"My mother says it's called Star Grass. It's apparently a type of grass that she came up with, several years ago. She always wondered whether it was possible to grow anything under the moon light, so these are the results of her research." She plucked a handful of grass from the ground, running it smoothly through her hands.

Once she was done getting a general feel of the grass for what was probably the umpteenth time, she turned her head to now focus her gaze on Natsu. It was the first time she had actually had her attention on him ever since he and Erza had arrived on the island, and when her eyes landed on his dark ones, Natsu found himself amazed by her eyes. It was the first time he actually got to see them clearly, and true to what he had seen of them the first time, they were indeed as he had remembered them.

It was like gazing into the night sky on a night where the sky was clear.

Her blue orbs only helped to accentuate the features more, and the pink haired Dragon Slayer wondered whether it was possible to learn such a trick himself.

"Hey…"

"Hmm?" She looked at the man curiously.

He closed his mouth abruptly and held up a hand, his eyes pursed together as if in thought. "No, wait."

An image sprung up in his mind of Erza, followed by everyone else in the guild's subsequent reactions the moment he would flash his eyes at them, as soon as he managed to learn the trick from Valeria of course.

He began to giggle childishly when the image lingered in his mind, increasing the curiosity of the girl who was seated just opposite him. She bobbed her head to the side slightly and focused a genuine look of curiosity towards the Dragon Slayer.

"What were you thinking about just now?"

Valeria had a penchant for being direct with whatever she wanted, simply because she didn't believe in beating about the bush. Her mom had mentioned once that she tended to be tight lipped with her words, so perhaps it was something she did in order to avoid having dragged out conversations with people around her. Of course, her direct and blunt nature while conversing was something that had given her mom grief a few times in the past, but since the young girl had shown no signs of ever being able to change it; Selene simply learned to accept it as part of her daughter's nature.

Fortunately though, the pink haired boy who she was currently seated with, unknown to her shared that similar aspect of her character himself. Natsu paused in his fit of giggles, now donning a wide eyed smile of amusement on his visage. He wasn't going to ask Valeria about her eyes, as something more interesting had sprung in his mind.

"Hey, do you suffer from motion sickness like me? How do you usually feel whenever you get on a car or a train?"

Her eyes widened slightly at the random query and she shrugged her shoulders unconsciously, as she had obviously been expecting something different.

Natsu could have sworn there was a flicker of a smile on her lips for a moment, before she deigned to answer the question. It reassured him a little and told him that he had gotten off the right foot with the young girl. Natsu was never exactly one to create a nice first impression on people, although it wasn't something that he had entirely noticed until Erza had pointed it out to him a while back.

"Actually, I do. It is a bit embarrassing to admit though, so whenever I'm travelling, I usually try and keep to myself in whatever I'm in at the moment. Of course, I wouldn't like anyone to see me in such a deplorable state, so I guess that answers your question."

The star gazed girl was not entirely sure when or how it had happened, but the next thing she knew, her arms were being grabbed from both sides by a set of firmer and harder hands. She nearly wormed her way out of the grip since it became a little uncomfortable, but soon enough, she found herself staring into Natsu's face, and there was a look of….enlightenment on his face? She wasn't sure what to make of the glow that seemed to mask his entire face and the strange way his eyes watered as they peered at her.

Natsu broke out into a fit of hysterical sobs that were muddled by the laughs that broke out from his palate, and for a few moments, Valeria just stood there, deciding to let his fellow Dragon Slayer fully express whatever he was feeling before continuing this…unusual conversation.

"I thought I was the only one! It's really hard isn't it?" Natsu exclaimed hysterically between sobs, before his arms moved from Valeria's arms then came to rest on the tops of both of her hands. He swung her hands that were now in his in delight, and was almost at the verge of twirling her around. He had always wondered whether other Dragon Slayers were like him and experienced motion sickness or whether he was the only oddball in a group of people that were already a rarity in Earthland, so now realizing that he wasn't the only one filled him with elation.

Natsu Dragneel tended to be an odd person like that.

To Valeria however, his sobs and broken sentences came off as more amusing than hysterical, so the young girl could not help but stifle a small giggle that escaped her lips, before she moved to respond.

There was a small pause. Did she just giggle?

It was the first time she had expressed an emotion like that in a long time, although that may have been partly due to the reason that it had been ages since she had met with another of her kind.

"It is, but I haven't exactly travelled in a long time. I can't say I entirely miss the feeling itself."

Natsu slowly released her hands from his grip, much to her unsaid relief before moving back to sit on the patchy surface he was on before, and the young girl proceeded to mirror his actions. Once he was seated, he proceeded to look at her with a curious gaze in his eyes, his earlier hysteria and bliss well forgotten. Both his hands were placed on his knees and he swayed slightly from side to side in a childlike motion.

"You've lived on this island all your life?" The Fire Dragon Slayer asked the girl, now himself curious over what she had mentioned before regarding not having travelled in a long time. That would mean that she hadn't left the island in a long time, right? Judging by her appearance and her stature, Natsu judged that she was definitely younger than him, approximately by a year or two. If the last time she had travelled had been years ago as she accentuated, then…

This question needed the young girl to put a little more thought into it, so she closed her eyes momentarily and folded her arms at her chest as she reminisced on what she had just been asked.

She opened her eyes after a minute, all through which Natsu had been watching her carefully as he anxiously waited for an answer from her. That unsettled her a little.

"As far as I can remember, yes, I've been here for a good fraction of my life. Well, when mom and I first came to this island, I think I was around 7 then, and I've been here ever since then."

Natsu's look of curiosity slowly dissolved and he stared at the girl incredulously. For probably the first time ever since he had began talking to the girl, he found himself unsatisfied by what the young girl had just told him. He couldn't entirely place his finger on it, but he didn't like what she had said and felt as if it wasn't something he could stomach.

"Don't you ever wanna go out? The freedom out there is pretty sweet, there are so many things to see and so many foods you can eat!" Natsu exclaimed nonchalantly, spreading his arms wide besides him to show her just how much she was missing out on.

"Hey now, don't look at me like that. Hmm, actually, to be honest with you, it's not something I've ever been keen on or given any thought. I've read some books about the outside world from my mom, and whatever I saw there wasn't exactly enough to make me excited enough to venture out there. I've always been comfortable enough just staying here with mom. It's peaceful."

Natsu was rendered speechless for a few minutes by what she had said, but he soon managed to recollect himself and say in a voice brimming with confidence and enthusiasm, "I promise I'll definitely show you the outside world one day! You can definitely count on that."

Well, he certainly wasn't one to listen to what other people had to say after all.

And yet somehow, Valeria couldn't find it in herself to be angry at him or even fault him for that particular thing about him. Perhaps it had to do with the fact that the two were kindred souls, in a way. The thought of it warmed her heart, such that she smiled as she spoke to Natsu.

It was probably the first time that he had seen her smile from the moment they had first met.

"Do as you will. I do warn you though. I might not be so willing to comply."

"It's okay! When the time comes, I'll definitely convince you!"

 _Once a stubborn mule, always a stubborn mule._

Of course, Valeria wasn't going to let him hear what she had thought just then, so she decided to ask him something in return this time.

"What about you? What do you do out there? What's your dragon parent like?"

Natsu opened his mouth to say something but then stopped halfway, as if pondering on whether or not he was supposed to talk after all. It was a bit funny now that he thought about it, true enough he had indeed mentioned Igneel to every Dragon Slayer he had come across in the past in an attempt to look for his foster father, but he had never entirely laid out the details of what it was like living with Igneel, even in the light of the short amount of time they had spent together with each other. This was probably the first time that someone had outrightly asked him about his time with Igneel.

He felt a sudden rush of affection for the white haired girl, and at the same time, a small part of him was a little jealous that she still had her dragon parent with her.

He wasn't going to tell her that, of course, so he decided to do the next best thing.

"Hmm, where do I start…."

Unknown to the two Dragon Slayers who were currently basking within each other, along the edge of one of the castle walls and in out of the sight of the two, a red haired woman watched them, and couldn't stop smiling at seeing how much fun Natsu was having at said moment. She had decided to spare a few minutes to check on how her friend was doing after the talk she had with Selene within the castle, and to her relief, her worries wound up being unfounded. Natsu was in the right hands and was having a blast with Valeria.

She made her way back into the castle for the night.

 _Good night, Natsu_.

 **A/N:** To be continued.


End file.
